Shohei Imamura's "The Ballad of Narayama" is excellent, as usual, but I would recommend another master, Keisuke Kinoshita's version. Kinoshita's version has a bizarre and unique mood. It has no equal in the world, drawing on the classical arts of Kabuki, Bunraku, and Noh.
Although low-budget, it is like watching an indigenous theater performance. With this unique cinematic style, Kinoshita has successfully restored the legend of the Japanese ubasute. But the original author, Fukasawa Shichiro, who revealed the extraordinary world, is also amazing. Kinoshita's directional skills have turned this horrifying Japanese custom into a work of art.
I saw it for the first time when I was in middle school. I thought it was the worst movie ever. Then, some time later, as an adult, I rewatched it and was amazed at how wonderful it was. It was so beautiful and magnificent that I could not believe it was made in 1968, and I thought it was an unprecedented and solemn historical work, like Goethe's "Faust" in literature, one of the greatest masterpieces of cinema that mankind has ever possessed. First of all, it is a film in which dialogue is reduced to the utmost limit, and even if it had been in black and white, I could have watched it ten times without getting tired of it, regardless of whether I could have endured the "silence. It's Kubrick's magic that you can watch this film without any annoying sound effects like in "Jaws" but with classical music and with your heart rate regulated like in Charlie Chaplin's silent films. I don't know how well this film was received in the U.S. at the time, but in Japan, many people shy away from it, saying it is difficult to understand.
This black-and-white, overcast film is irrepressibly unsettling and immerses the viewer in a visual experience that is almost like peering into the mind of a madman. David Lynch's crazy visual universe began here and reached its climax with "Mulholland Drive". It is a film that transcends the categories of mere avant-garde and surrealist cinema, and is a film of overwhelming experimentation, dinners that abnormal psychologists and psychopathologists are in hot pursuit of, and eerie images that look like a psychological test created by a psychiatrist as a desperate measure for the sake of untreatable mental patients. Even ten years after my first viewing, the eerie images stick in my mind like mold. It is David Lynch's masterpiece and perhaps one of the most important films made since the 1970s.
Mandingo. D'Artagnan. Slave abuse. Tarantino's technique of capturing the painful discrimination against blacks head-on and, on the contrary, making it cathartic in the final scene is brilliant. Starting with the impressive theme song, nonstop violence replaces it, giving us a glimpse into the kaleidoscope of horrific American society. Leonardo DiCaprio's monstrous performance and Christoph Waltz's near-perfect supporting turn are the main reasons for the film's appeal, but Quentin Tarantino's screenplay, which deliberately intersects revenge and black racism and ends up making us sneer at those who looked down on the slaves, is nothing short of brilliant.
Next to "Pulp Fiction" this is Quentin's best film.
This video work is visualized, "psychotherapy". It is truly in the realm of the divine. The numerous famous scenes, eccentric, unusually colorful, erotic, gross-out, and fully materialized by the alchemy of Mr. Alexandre Jodorowsky, can sufficiently heal patients with "mental disorders" as "psychotherapy" even if there is no dialogue in them. And the film is an ensemble of images of the perverts of the earth, including sexuality, grotesqueness, sanctity, love (or abuse) of the disabled, and contempt for animals, all in one film.
This is not only Alejandro Jodorowsky's masterpiece, but (at least for me) I was healed by this film. It is this visual work, more than drugs or masturbation, that is the source of salvation for me. So this film is a Copernican turn in psychiatry beyond art. Thank you for saving me. And if you watch it without subtitles, you will have a much more enjoyable experience.
A cult animation masterpiece that still has a devoted fan base in the world of Japanese animation. Even if one were to compare it to the follow-up "The Castle of Cagliostro" one could be forgiven for thinking that it is a film featuring a different character, since the backstory of Lupin III is so neglected that it is hard to believe that they are the same character.
Lupin is seduced by Fujiko Mine, a female thief and spy, and manages to steal the Philosopher's Stone from the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh, but Fujiko uses it for a contract in a criminal business.
The person who gave the order was a mysterious man named Mamo. The maniacal character, who calls himself "God" has been alive for 10,000 years after inventing the "Copy Man Manufacturing Method" On an island in the Caribbean Sea that he owns, there are human replicas of Napoleon and Hitler. And then there are the men who are working on the dream of mankind, the study of eternal life. ............ The battle with Lupin's greatest enemy, Mamo, comes to a surprising end.
Perhaps the greatest masterpiece of Japanese animation, with surrealist and experimental elements, it was even more popular than "The Castle of Cagliostro" at the time, but its reputation has now been reversed.
Along with "Un Chien Andalou" (16 minutes), it is the best short film in the history of cinema.
Kenneth Anger is still a genius.
Many short films made and published by filmmakers around the world, including Kenneth Anger, do not stand a chance against this early work, let alone beat it.
We can only find a faint example in Jan Svankmajer.
The work of an angel. 20 minutes of miracles, perfect eroticism and grotesqueness. A drug to watch, born on earth.
My favorite Quentin Tarantino film at its most well-made. I've probably seen "Pulp Fiction" which is intriguing from the title, over 100 times, and I still can't get enough of it (I can copy most of the scenes). From the opening restaurant scene, to the credits, to Vincent Vega and Jules Winfield's silly conversation in the car, I'm sick and tired of repeating it. It's a film that's been talked about so much that I won't venture to go into detail, but I'm glad I got to see it before my Tarantino fever completely cooled off from the boredom of "Reservoir Dogs". As one of the most delightful masterpieces of cinema to have been produced around the world in the last quarter century, it is personally the most enjoyable and giddy film to have been released in 1994, and perhaps my favorite, entertaining romp of all time.
With this film, a world heritage of cinema, Stanley Kubrick has reached a level of artistic mastery that would make Michelangelo pale in comparison. To make a film an art form, it must have the innovation of a Chaplin or Jean-Luc Godard. Furthermore, for a film to be a masterpiece, it must have music, direction, and great performances by the cast. Nevertheless, this film easily fulfills these requirements, and miraculously, it is a perfect work of art, with outstandingly high quality visual beauty far above the audience. For 136 minutes, one feels as if one has stepped into an exhibition of paintings or photographs that are sigh-inducingly vivid, beautiful, sometimes violent, and sometimes insane. The film's elaborate camerawork is erotic, but not vulgar, like a sensual film. The clarity of vision, both pictorial and photographic, is unparalleled. Any of the scenes, even the still ones, would make a grade-A photo book. Without a doubt, it is the best film made in the entire world in 1971. It deserves to be the "Pietà" of the film world.
This creepy film by Makavejev is arguably more eccentric and perverse than any film I have ever seen. But while it's easy to just make a cult film, "Sweet Movie" will captivate most of its audience with plenty of eye-boggling directorial gimmicks not found even in most cult films. And, best of all, it is an unprecedented experimental musical film, not exactly good for one's mental health, but brilliant as an artistic experience. But it is probably the highest level of film that the average parent would not want their children to see. There are numerous scenes that would be banned today, and many that offend. And the occasional inserts of brief, abominable footage from the old days almost have a narcotic effect on the film, transforming it from a Bizarro bad movie into a high-artistic drama.
This Pier Paolo Pasolini masterpiece, a masterful visualization of an aberrant practice previously reserved for literature, is an extraordinary problem film, twinned with Nagisa Oshima's "Ai no Corrida".
A mad rich man locks up boys and girls in a castle for perverted scatology, rape, and grotesque and violent murder. At the time of its release, this film caused controversy, both domestically and internationally.
Pasolini's remix of the masterpiece novel bequeathed by the Marquis de Sade, the king of perversions.
The final scene symbolizes this perverse microcosm.
It has become a cult favorite, partly because Pasolini was murdered.
In "Vol. 2," Elle and Budd give brilliant performances that captivate the audience. Pai Mei has been killed, Budd has been bitten by a poisonous snake, and Elle is in a frenzy after her eyeballs are gouged out by her mentor and Beatrix. It is the most spectacular scene. It is not as messy as the previous film, but it is a cohesive, high-quality revenge drama. The process of Beatrix Kiddo's reemergence after her burial is truly hilarious, although it gets a little boring from the scene where she meets Bill. It's hard to argue with "Vol. 1," but "Vol. 2" is my personal favorite.
Great homages, music, animation, subculture and violence flood the viewer's curiosity with the strongest entertainment. Although disappointed by the unconvincing Japanese performances of Sonny Chiba and GoGo, the assortment that the audience still received after the screening is quite unique, messy, but with the most pop visual sensation. Tarantino's signature plagiarism, with its elaborate use of several techniques, is akin to Pablo Picasso, Even though it is a plagiarism of "Lady Snowblood" it is still more than the original. The scene in which O-ren's head is cut open, which invokes Meiko Kaji's "Shura no Hana", is a violent depiction that will remain in the history of cinema.
To put it bluntly, it was Pasolini and Nagisa Oshima who elevated pornography to an art form. "Ai no Corrida" is a film based on the crazy scandal of a Japanese woman, Sada Abe, who was obsessed with sex. The film is a masterful depiction of sex, and in the uncensored version, viewers will be surprised to find that the sex acts in the film are no different from those in pornographic videos. Some may be put off by the scenes of pubic hair, semen, and lewd displays of genitalia, male and female. However, it is questionable to dismiss the film's unusual artistry on that basis alone. No one can fail to notice that the sex scenes depicted in "Ai no Corrida" are ten thousand times better than those in the erotic "Species". Nagisa Oshima is by far a more aesthetically pleasing director than Akira Kurosawa, and he could have made any number of films that ordinary people would enjoy watching. His talent is unwavering, and this sex-documentary style masterpiece is unique in Asia.
A masterpiece of surrealist horror that seems to have been inspired by Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and others. A terrifying thriller that is fearless, unsettling, and traumatizing, with a mystery that is mysterious and enigmatic. It is the critics who say it makes no sense that make no sense.
One of the most stunning since the legendary "2001: A Space Odyssey," which overwhelms the viewer with science fiction, experimental film, psychological drama, psychological thriller, and a background knowledge of physics. A blockbuster that is the white-hot best of Mr. Christopher Nolan's work. To be honest, "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" are not my favorites, but the truly astonishing ending is a real eye-opener. The beautiful computer graphics technology, combined with the development of the story, creates a brilliantly shivering universe that stands as a masterpiece of science fiction thriller that towers over the long history of American cinema.
"Jurassic Park" is an amazing movie.
It is the best in the series. And the thrill of being chased by a T. Rex, with all the CG that is now commonplace, is still hard to forget and I've seen it many times. Even the poorly received "The Lost World" is a favorite of mine.
When I was a kid, my favorite film director was Steven Spielberg.
The culmination of Quentin Tarantino is probably the most well-made film in his filmography. The producers and all the crew have done a wonderful job, and above all, Quentin Tarantino has upgraded his boundaries to the next level. I no longer have anything more to ask for in a film. But Tarantino always bounces off these moods, and that is what makes him so respectable.
What is surprising is that Tarantino did not receive an Oscar for Best Screenplay for this film. The screenplay for this film is one of the best and most captivating of his career, but when it comes to the Oscars, I get the impression that it was beaten out by a crappy film.
But Stanley Kubrick has already taught us that the Oscar is not everything.
A masterpiece of unparalleled horror cinema. Scenes of terror that make you want to cover your eyes, human insanity, ghosts, and a terrifying mythology.
No matter how many times you watch it, it still scares you. The scene where a large amount of blood comes rushing in is shocking. The transformation of a beautiful woman into an ugly old woman, the camera work with the lowered gaze, and the joking around with the mysterious stuffed animal are all things that have never been seen in horror films before, and even freshness has been incorporated into the film. Shelley Duvall's monstrous performance, in which she seems to have gone mad, is also brilliant.
My favorite film.
Stunning sex scenes, Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly's acting ability and beauty, and the incendiary mood (which lasts forever).
Even the last scene is a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and sweating your hands, and I get excited no matter how many times I watch it.
Although easier to follow than "The Matrix," the story and direction are rather more outstanding in "Bound".
I appreciate "Princess Mononoke" from a singular point of view. In medieval Japan, it was the female chieftain Eboshi who saved the minds and bodies of leprosy patients who had been discriminated against. She appears to be a bloodless, evil woman, but she is really a woman unlike any other woman in modern Japan, adored and respected by the men, and yet she controls the entire organization, which could be called a gang. She overcomes the old stereotype of women as dirty. Although only San stands out, she is also a fine leading lady.
The FBI's enigmatic young Clarice Starling is hard at work training. From the beginning, the dark tones of the sound were haunting and addictive to my ears. Jack Crawford trying to get Clarice to meet Hannibal Lecter, a cold-blooded killer and cannibal, and the impressive opening foreshadows the extraordinary landscape that is about to unfold. No matter how many times you see this film, it will scare you and you will never get tired of it. Jonathan Demme's direction is, of course, a shining example of adaptation. Jodie Foster's performance as Clarice, who is psychologically taken advantage of in her first meeting with Dr. Lecter, is very realistic. Not to be forgotten is Anthony Hopkins. Even now, Anthony's face strikes fear into my heart. The demented old man in "The Father" (2020) is also brilliant, but it is no surprise that this killer, who does not have much to do, is the one to receive the Oscar.
Abel Ferrara's horrendous crime films are the best in the world in terms of realism. In particular, "King of New York" is a standout among Ferrara's less well-received works. The sensation of having peeked into an extraordinary world on first viewing is unforgettable to this day. It is by no means a complete work that can be called a masterpiece, but I personally love this film.
Compared to the surprisingly underrated "Godzilla" (1998), "Gojira" is a great monster movie. The special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya look cheap now, but that doesn't stop the impact of the film, the script, or the pounding, exciting development. It is in black and white and is almost a horror film. It is scary, funny, and strong, and the performances of the cast, including Akira Takarada, add to the film, which is also a scathing criticism of the atomic and hydrogen bombs.
It is truly a female monstrosity.
Godard saw these films by Mizoguchi and inherited his artistic legacy.
This is a masterpiece of Mizoguchi's direction and camera work in black-and-white.
It is a film from my home country and my favorite Japanese film, even more so than "Seven Samurai".
The lead actress, Machiko Kyo, is perfect and as beautiful as a fairy in the heavenly realm.
"CODA" is a moving film. Three hard-of-hearing people appear in the film, and the sheer reality of the film is astonishing. There is a silent scene in the middle of the film that immerses us in the world of the deaf, and I froze in fear, but I also felt that the world they live in is a wonderful environment.
"Reservoir Dogs", now a paragon of all crime movies, was not my cup of tea. What was interesting was the crap about "Like A Virgin" at the beginning, and the rest went downhill. No thrills. Noisy at times. There was none of the humor or exciting scenes that were so prominent in "Pulp Fiction." As for the violence, despite Tarantino's penchant for bloodlust, the film is rather soft and will have little to no negative impact on today's schoolchildren.
Not very enjoyable fantasy.
It is a well-made film among those adapted from novels into live-action, but it is decidedly inferior to, say, "The Lord of the Rings."
I myself grew up watching mostly Ghibli, but for some reason I just can't get used to "Harry Potter".
Unique animals, beautiful pencil drawings, and colorful, vivid ukiyoe-style pictures with minimal CG are irresistible.
A coming-of-age story in a bathhouse where the gods gather. In Hayao Miyazaki's signature style, the main character is a dull girl.
But when she returns from this adventure, she's stronger!
The culmination of Ghibli's standard house specialty.
The movie is set in Osaka, my hometown. Everything is beautiful and vivid: the kimonos, the blind date, the cherry blossom viewing. There is no storyline.
But that is why the beauty of the images, the Japanese "furyu" and the Osaka dialect add to the charm of this film. The influence of the original author, Junichiro Tanizaki, who was fascinated by Osaka culture, is tremendous.
